8 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Friday (October 10, 2025) sought responses from the Union authorities and the Election Commission of India connected a petition challenging the broad disqualification of prisoners, including undertrials and pre-trial detainees who person not been convicted, from exercising their close to vote.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran was proceeding a plea filed by advocator Sunita Sharma, which urged the tribunal to devise a model allowing a much nuanced and individualised determination alternatively of a sweeping prohibition. The petition projected that the regularisation beryllium constricted to individuals convicted of specified offences oregon serving sentences beyond a peculiar duration.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocator Prashant Bhushan submitted that the regularisation affects astir 4.5 lakh prisoners crossed India, the immense bulk of whom are undertrials. “It is some feasible and constitutionally imperative to facilitate voting by section incarcerated electors - done polling stations wrong the astir 1,350 jails nationwide and via postal ballots by interstate electors,” the petition stated.
The plea argued that adjacent if persons imprisoned for corrupt practices oregon electoral offences are excluded, a ample fig of undertrials and pre-trial detainees proceed to beryllium unjustly deprived of their franchise. It further noted that nether the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the close to ballot is contingent connected inclusion successful the electoral roll, and Section 16(1)(c) provides for disqualification lone connected 2 grounds - condemnation for corrupt practices oregon electoral offences. Disqualification whitethorn besides originate from non-residence oregon unsoundness of mind.
Questioning the rationale down denying undertrials the close to ballot portion allowing adjacent convicted individuals to contention elections, Ms. Sharma asked, “Then however tin mean citizens who person not been declared oregon adjudicated arsenic convicted beryllium denied the close to ballot and to take their ain representative?”
The petition referred to Section 62(5) of the 1950 Act, which disqualifies immoderate idiosyncratic from voting portion confined successful prison, whether nether a condemnation of imprisonment, transportation, oregon lawful constabulary custody. It acknowledged that the law validity of this proviso was upheld successful the 1997 ruling successful Anukul Chandra Pradhan v. Union of India, wherever the Supreme Court held that the close to ballot is statutory and taxable to legislative limitations.
However, the plea contended that this presumption has evolved pursuing the 2023 ruling successful Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, successful which a Constitution Bench recommended the enactment of a high-powered committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition successful the Lok Sabha to name the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. In that judgment, the tribunal besides recognised the close to ballot arsenic a cardinal close nether Part III of the Constitution.
The plea further noted that nary specified regularisation exists nether the Indian Penal Code, present replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Citing planetary practice, it observed that astir antiauthoritarian countries bash not enforce a broad prohibition connected prisoners’ voting rights, and wherever restrictions exist, they are based connected an individualised judicial determination, the gravity of the offence, oregon the duration of the sentence.
“Furthermore, the broad prohibition violates the universally recognised rule of the presumption of innocence. In India, implicit 75% of prisoners are pre-trial oregon undertrial detainees, galore of whom stay incarcerated for years. In 80 to 90% of cases, specified individuals are yet acquitted, yet they are denied the cardinal antiauthoritarian close to ballot for decades,” the plea added.
Citing National Crime Records Bureau information from 2022, the petition highlighted that astir 77% of India’s situation colonisation comprises undertrials, portion the condemnation complaint for full IPC offences stands astatine lone 8.55%. Denying specified a ample conception of citizens their electoral franchise, it argued, undermines the tone and intent of the Constitution.
The tribunal has posted the substance for further proceeding aft 4 weeks.
